It had been three weeks since her conversation with her parents. She stared aimlessly outside the window of her car as her driver wove up the winding road. The tress flashed past her one after another till she finally came across the sea. The sea. Her first taste of freedom. The water below her glistened like crystals. The cerulean blue faded into black as it got closer to the horizon. She could see the seagulls soaring through the sky and happily chirping in the distance. Her eyes closed as she drifted into a deep slumber, only to be woken up an hour later by her driver.

“Miss we’re here.” He monotonously called to the back seat.

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath and was about to unlock the car door but it opened before she could do so. Her eyes flickered in confusion before looking up to greet the face of Kim Jong-In. She had to shade her eyes from the sun just to make out his face. The sun provided a sort of warmth that she hadn’t felt before. Her house was always cold.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, welcoming you to your new school” Kai answered matter-of-factly.

“Oh okay.” Was all she managed to say.

“Let’s go, I’ll to introduce you to some of my friends.” Kai gestured by nodding his head to the back.

“Friends…” Yookyung repeated. For some reason the word felt so unfamiliar in .

“Yes, friends. Let’s go.” He gestured for her to hook her arm through his like he had done at the party but she didn’t comply. She smiled as she realised she’d made her first independent decision. Although it was something small, she felt like the heavy weights of pressure had been lifted off of her shoulders. Her family was miles away; her father’s company was miles away, the media were miles away. Here she was, at a new school, no one knew who she was, there were no expectations she had to meet; she could just be herself. If only she knew how.

Yookyung stepped out of the car onto the grass without the help of Kai before taking in her surroundings. The school was a large white mansion with fields of lush, green grass running for acres behind it. It was perched on a cliffside by the sea. The school, she read, owned stables filled with healthy, first-rate stallions. There was a large pool connected to the sea, they possessed a track for athletics and had hundreds of classrooms. The school was surely top-class. The cheerful chatter of the returning students rang in her ears as she followed Kai to meet his friends. Her driver had already taken her case up to her room for her. Room 203, she recalled. She hadn’t any hopes of a nice roommate as she herself would probably come off as rather hostile. All she had hoped for was a warm bed to rest her body and lay her head. She bumped into Kai as he came to a stop, immediately snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Sorry.” She mumbled. Kai chuckled.

“Yookyung, meet Luhan and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo and Luhan; meet Yookyung.” Kai introduced the pair to the perplexed heiress. She peeked at them from behind Kai and bowed. He didn’t mind showing the girl around, but in all honesty, it wasn’t a part of his initial plans. He could tell it made Yookyung uncomfortable and he himself didn’t want to spend his first term acting as her personal guide. It was his final year of school after all. He sighed, as he knew he would have to though, he just couldn’t disappoint his parents. As Yookyung walked ahead, he pulled his two friends back to apologize.

“I’m sorry, but my parents said I had to look after her while she settles in…” Kai rolled his eyes.

“It’s cool with me bro, she’s pretty anyway” Luhan grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Kyungsoo nudged the Chinese student in the ribs.

“Don’t listen to him, it’s fine Kai. Really.” Kyungsoo reassured his best friend.

♡

“Here we are, room 203.” Kyungsoo motioned for Yookyung to open the door.

“Thank you for showing me around, you really don’t have to bother. I’ll be fine on my own.” Yookyung told the trio.

“No, no. It’s okay. Really.” Luhan smiled charmingly. The three gentlemen patiently waited for her to step into her room. She rapped on the door five times before it opened, revealing a gorgeous girl dressed in black. She smiled sweetly at her new roommate but her expression turned sour after meeting the eyes of Yookyung’s escorts. She smiled at Kyungsoo before rolling her eyes at Kai. She didn't even bother to acknowledge Luhan's presence. Yookyung was confused but didn’t question anything. She remained straight-faced whislt being ushered into her room, briefly turning back to bow to the boys before entering.

“So that sweet old man who entered earlier was your…”

“Driver.” Yookyung finished the sentence for her.

“I see… I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Naeun” The girl beamed. She stuck her hand out for Yookyung to shake but Yookyung just stared at it till Naeun bemusedly withdrew her arm.

“I’m Yookyung.” The heiress replied. She had no problem with informing Naeun about her driver as she presumed that it was normal thing around here. Considering the facilities and curriculum the school offered, she’d come to deduce that the majority of the student body was well off too. However, she had no intention of giving away any more information about her family other than that little fact. Though the students all seemed to come from fairly comfortable households, she, as much as she hated to admit, was of another class altogether. She figured that if she genuinely wanted to experience what it meant to be free, she’d have to gain sincere acquaintances, even if it meant having to be insulted by the people around her. She preferred honesty to measly fibs after all. It was time to remove the silver spoon from . She was no longer Hong Yookyung, privileged successor. She was now Hong Yookyung, regular girl. Or at least somewhat regular.

Yookyung made sure to slip Kai a note the next morning at breakfast, it read: ‘Don’t tell anybody who I am’. She had received a reply from him within the next hour; ‘okay.’ was all it said. She observed the messy, boyish writing Kai had. From the style of his inscription she knew that it was quick and confident. It proved to her that he had no intention of doing otherwise; and for that specific promise (and that promise only), she knew she could trust him.

♡

Two weeks had come and gone since Yookyung’s arrival at the academy. Studiously, she was settling in well. As always, she maintained her incessant streak of A*s. Socially however, it was mediocre. It was definitely different to how she felt back home yet she still didn’t feel completely ‘free’. She wasn’t searching for acceptance; she didn’t care about how many friends she had because she knew that she wouldn’t remember any of their faces once the year was over. Her objective was to find herself, experience new things and just feel normal. Unfortunately, the only new thing she’d experienced so far was sharing a bathroom. Thankfully, Naeun was almost as neat as she, so she didn’t find much fault with the unfamiliar practice.

Yookyung was a cold person by nature. Hence she wasn’t mystified when she found the students walking on eggshells around her.  She remained poker-faced during class and at meal times. She gave no indication as to how she felt and the students were getting accustomed to her reserved behaviour. The only person she had let in, more so than others, was Naeun. She had to. They were roommates. Yookyung wasn’t yet ready to consider her a ‘friend’, but Naeun was the closest thing she had to one. Even with her parents Yookyung did not speak unless spoken to; she surprised herself in the beginning when she found herself actually starting conversations with Naeun. For most people, it would’ve been an insignificant detail, which could be brushed off without a second thought, but for Yookyung, it was a great feat. Naeun noticed this too. She was content in knowing that Yookyung was gradually opening up to her. Naeun wasn’t aware of Yookyung’s background, nor did she have any real desire to know of it. Of course she wished to understand why Yookyung was so guarded and restrained, but she knew better than to push the issue further. If Yookyung wanted her to know, she’d have told Naeun herself.

♡

Kai didn't want to admit it, but Yookyung fascinated him. It wasn’t that he’d developed a romantic interest in the girl (yet); she was just different. A good different. Her unapproachable demeanour made her that much more alluring, and Kai knew that he wasn’t the only one who thought so. The moment Yookyung walked into a room, the testosterone levels of the young men were on an all-time high. Kai wasn’t a dog like the others; in fact, it was safe to say that he self-control, as did Luhan and Kyungsoo. The three musketeers could see how oblivious Yookyung was to the all the attention from the students and the jealousy that brewed within the hearts of the female populous of the prestigious institution. It was a typically amusing spectacle to watch.

After purchasing her lunch, Yookyung made her way outside to meet Naeun so they could eat together, but before she reached the door, she was stopped by a group of rowdy males. She waited for what they had to say out of courtesy, but after a while she began to tap her foot in impatience, as she was only human. was beckoning for a taste of her turkey on rye.

“Yookyung, why don’t you sit with us today?” One boy said with a wink.

“Naeun can join us as well, if she’d please.” Another added with a smirk. The band of blockheads laughed raucously. The dunces were making complete asses of themselves by making ual and crude gestures. Her insides shuddered with disgust. Before she could rebut, Luhan and Kai had fortunately come to her rescue.

“Sorry boys, but Yookyung is sitting with us today” Luhan wrapped his arm round her shoulder and dragged her away. Kai tried to hold in his laughter, as the boys’ disappointment became evident. He raised two fingers in casual salute before following Luhan and Yookyung. As he caught up to them he clearly heard one of the girls mutter ‘’ under her breath. Yookyung heard it too. She stopped dead in her tracks.

“Say it again.” She called out. The majority of the student body held their breath. No one (apart from Naeun and Kai) had ever heard her actually speak first before. Some didn’t even believe she was capable of doing so.

“W-what?” The girl replied, obviously taken aback. Yookyung turned around to face the girl.

“Say it again.” She repeated, a little harsher.

“S-?”

“Say it with more confidence.” Yookyung instructed.

“S-s…” The girl, now afraid, started to stutter.

“Come on, I don’t have all day.” Yookyung clucked her tongue in annoyance. The thoughtless girl had started to regret ever uttering such a foul word. She took a deep breath and repeated the curse once more.

“.” She said finally. Yookyung was satisfied. She bowed and said thank you before turning on her feet and walking out the door with a smile. The spectators were bewildered. Just when they thought they were starting to figure out the new girl, she just had to go and react in such an erratic manner. Yookyung was beaming as she walked with light feet to find the closest thing she had to a friend, Naeun. Luhan and Kai were confused as f-. They briefly glanced at each other before Kai ran off after her. He found Yookyung sitting peacefully on a bench, under the big oak tree behind the school; waiting patiently for Naeun and watching the horses race around the track.

“What, what was that?” He asked as he leisurely strode to her, standing behind the bench she was sitting on. He glanced at the horses racing and noticed that Naeun was in lead.

“You’ll have to be more specific Kim Jong-In.” She answered flatly without looking back.

“That. In the canteen.” Kai pointed in the direction of the school building. Yookyung chuckled to herself in contempt as she thought back to the incident.

“Isn’t the weather just fabulous today?” Yookyung smiled with her eyes closed, taking in the fresh air. She listened to the birds chirping, nestled in the branches above. Her milky white skin glowed under the vibrant sun. She embraced the warmth of the sun and breathed in peacefully. Kai rolled his eyes but was secretly pleased at her sudden bubbly attitude.

“Well?” Kai prompted.

“Oh? You really wanted to know?”

“Yes!” He cried out.

“I guess it just felt… refreshing.” Yookyung sighed happily.

“Refreshing? Really?” Kai asked with disbelief.

“You enjoy getting bagged on?” He questioned again, clearly amused.

“No. I don’t take pleasure in being ridiculed.” Yookyung rolled her eyes before continuing.

“It’s just that nobody has ever said anything bad about me before, for obvious reasons of course. I mean, imagine having a father like mine. Imagine what it's like to see evident fear in the eyes of your peers as you walk down the halls, day after day. And if it isn’t fear then it’s ambition – ambition to befriend me, ambition to befriend my father. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I wasn’t happy because I was called out in front of the entire school; I just appreciated the fact that, for the first time, I was treated like a regular human being. Because that’s just what I am. A regular. Human. Being.”

Kai could see Yookyung’s eyes return to their usual lonely state. The sparkle in her eyes had vanished.

Although the feeling of normality had only lasted a few minutes, those minutes were gold to her.

“All my life, I wouldn't speak unless spoken to. I never did anything because it was what I wanted to do. I would only do something because it was what my father would’ve wanted from me. I was his naïve, little puppet and he was my master.” Yookyung hypothetically spat, with clear spite in her voice. She picked at her sandwich until she decided she’d lost her appetite. She ambled over to the bin to toss away her half-eaten lunch. She realised that it would be impolite of her to just leave Kai there without any indication of what she was doing. So just like he had done to the boisterous party of boys back in the canteen, she saluted him and walked off without a word. Just like that.

----

Woo! 3 chapters in a day! I'm updating way too much aren't I...

I'm sorry if it's too confusing to follow... I hope it isn't too bad. It's still going quite slow, so I'm sorry. I'll try to pick up the pace in the next chapter.

@KaiYookyung: Like I said previously, the number of characters to focus on was too much to handle and the story was becoming muddled. Plus I didn't really like it :L Thank you for the encouragement though! I'll try and include some of the ideas from that fanfic into this one. It's not like I wrote much anyway, only about 2 chapters I believe.